Queer Forestry Camp

Friday February 17th to Sunday February 19th 2017

Do you like to cut down trees? Skip and jump? Press wild flowers? Put on dandy clothing and hang under the stars? Yes? Well, come and join our Forestry Camp at Groundswell because you’re a queer lumberjack and that’s more than O.K., that’s fantabulosa.

As queers we are so often told that we are “unnatural.” Whether it be our gender presentation, sexualities, or just how we act, we are told that we are outside of nature. This makes it especially important we come back to wild spaces to remember that we are natural, beautiful parts of the earth. At Queer Forestry Camp we will work and play in the woods during the day, getting to intimately know the trees. At night we will gather around the campfire and talk about our relationship to the natural world, getting to more intimately know each other.Through different activities, both educational and social, we will create deeper connections to nature, to each other, and to ourselves.

Queer Forestry Camp will explore the forest at Groundswell and its relationship to the watershed of the land. Our forest was heavily logged in the 1950s, like most forests in the U.S. Our hope is that one day we be able to manage our forest such that it will produce a moderate amount of lumber while it regains its old-growth stature. A healthy old-growth forest has resilience and strength. It not only holds water to recharge the aquifer but it can create rain. It also is highly resistance to damaging forest fires. Additionally an old-growth forest releases water with very little silt which is needed in order for the salmon to reclaim their historic breeding grounds.

Join us to learn how the forests can be managed in ways that are healthy for both the woods and people. Forests were once managed by the local communities/tribes that inhabited the area. People acted as friends to the forests, helping maintain their health while utilizing the resources they provided. This is what we aim to get back to. This Queer Forestry will help participants learn ecological assessment, carbon sequestration methods, and restoration forestry.

We will be utilizing hand tools such as axes, saws and draw knives, as well as working with goats to demonstrate how grazers can be an integral part forest management. This will be a hands-on event and will present some physical challenges.Workshops will engage a range of skills and abilities, so people of all experience levels are encouraged to join in. Everyone will be encouraged to only participate with respect to their individual physical capacity. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have questions.